Teaching Self-Care In Kids

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The best thing we can do to make sure our children look after themselves whenever we’re not around is to ingrain some healthy habits. From eating healthily to being safe online, there are so many things that can give us concerns on a daily basis. The benefits of teaching kids the importance of self-sufficiency at a young age will do them wonders for their confidence, make them more responsible and aware of their actions, and it helps us sleep a little better at night!

The importance of teaching children how to look after themselves can begin at an early age with giving them the understanding of sharing and possession of items. Many children can find the concept of sharing incredibly difficult to grasp, which can make for issues later on, so it is best to start implementing sharing as soon as you can. This can then extend, as time goes on, to developing good habits around other people, especially in an environment that can compromise their safety, such as in a car. While you can spend a lot of time looking for the best infant car seat for your child to keep them secure, the importance of teaching them sensible behavior and what is appropriate when they are a passenger in someone else’s car goes to extend the importance of politeness and respecting other people’s space and property. While they are in a car, the concept of what is safe and what is not is another thing to communicate properly, which is why enforcing clear boundaries is a vital component of teaching them about safety. While many parents would speak of teaching their children the outcome if they do something naughty, communicating the outcome if they misbehave in a car is not a very tasteful approach to parenting! Instead, speaking of boundaries and when children should not interrupt their parents may be a more sensible method.

The concept of safety is a different thing when it comes to being out in the open. We’re all aware of stranger danger, and why children shouldn’t speak to adults, but that approach doesn’t help if the child gets lost, the child won't ask for help when they need it. Instead of telling your child to completely avoid adults, it would be best to say that, if they ever get lost, to find another mom with children. That way the concept of not speaking to strangers is enforced, but also the child will have some knowledge of what to do if they need help. The message doesn’t become mixed, which can cause a lot of confusion. Talking to strangers is a complete no-no for children, and the consequences should be communicated to them. As well as this, teaching children about being aware of their surroundings helps when in an unfamiliar area or out on a school trip and the standard caution of accepting sweets from strangers or speaking to strange people. The signals can get blurred in many ways, and so, teaching children good habits of looking after themselves needs to be one of the first things you should do.